Commentary: Let's drop the non-story about Clowney

Jadeveon Clowney is a football player, and until we hear differently from him or USC, this “story” about him possibly sitting out a season is much ado about nothing.

By MATT CONNOLLYmatthew.connolly@shj.com

Stop it.Please, just stop it.The horse is dead. It's been beaten, shot and hanged.Jadeveon Clowney is a football player, and until we hear differently from him or the University of South Carolina, this “story” about him possibly sitting out a season is much ado about nothing.I realize it's the middle of February, football is over and we're all having withdrawal symptoms, but there has to be something else to discuss. The idea of Clowney potentially sitting out a season had been thrown around from time-to-time before, but a column that ran in the Charlotte Observer about a week ago caught the eye of the national media. Before we knew it, we had a runaway train. The idea was discussed throughout ESPN's lineup of shows last week, including “Mike and Mike,” “Around the Horn,” “First Take” and “Pardon the Interruption.”Sports Illustrated, CBS Sports and ESPN also had mentions of Clowney sitting out a season on their websites.But why? Why is this a story at all? Why is it becoming national news and being discussed over and over and over again?Every year, there are numerous players who are a “lock” to be a Top 10 draft pick entering their third year of college football. That hype isn't usually accompanied by talk of any of them sitting out a year.Reggie Bush, Andrew Luck, Sam Bradford, Matthew Stafford, Trent Richardson, Mark Ingram, the list goes on and on. They were all players who were projected to be high draft picks entering their final season of college football, yet no one even considered them sitting out a season.In fact, Luck and Bradford returned for their redshirt junior seasons instead of turning pro after their redshirt sophomore years. If Clowney is to sit out the upcoming season, then shouldn't Teddy Bridgewater, the Louisville quarterback who will likely be a Top 5 pick after the 2013 season? Or what about Marqise Lee, the receiver from Southern Cal who also will be a very high pick in the 2014 draft?After all, the contract for the No. 1 overall pick and the No. 5 overall pick is very similar, separated by just a few million dollars. So if you're projected as a high draft pick, why not just sit out a year, right?Wrong.Clowney had offers from nearly every college program in the country coming out of high school, but he chose to stay home and play his college football for the Gamecocks.He announced his decision on ESPN on Valentine's Day in 2011.His reason for playing college football in Columbia?“I've got a lot of friends up there. I'll play with a couple of teammates up there. I've got a couple of friends going up there this year. I want to play with them boys,” he said.Clowney chose to come to South Carolina to try to lead his home-state school to its first SEC and national titles, and to do so playing alongside his friends.He helped USC to back-to-back Top 10 finishes and 11-win seasons and is a big reason why the Gamecocks will be a preseason Top 10 team for 2013.Clowney's got a chance to win the Heisman next season, perhaps the best chance that any solely defensive player has ever had.Despite all of that, there are many suggesting he should sit out the upcoming season, not play football at all but train and work out for a year.If Clowney were to sit out this year, then what's next? As he's nearing the end of his rookie deal and in position to sign a monster contract after his first four years in the league, does he exaggerate injuries and look for excuses to sit out games months before he inks a big contract?No. Because he's a football player, and he'll do whatever he can to help his team win games.That's what football players do. They play.So please, just stop it.